Maley (Kannada)
Director: R. Chandru
Cast: Prem, Amulya
Standing at a bus-stop, Varun happens to see Varsha. Dazzled by her appearance, he follows her. When she boards a bus, he too does. When the bus breaks down and Varsha starts walking to her village, he follows her. When she is scared to cross a wobbly bridge along the way, he carries her against her will. He stares at her throughout the journey even though she is visibly creeped out by him. In the real world, Varun’s behaviour would necessitate a police arrest, but in the film he is actually rewarded with Varsha’s love.
Week after week, it appears that our films celebrate stalking as love. This is, of course, not something that is peculiar to Kannada cinema alone. However, that does not mean that this portrayal is not disturbing. This week’s release Maley does it too.
There is a unique moment in the film when Varsha points out to Varun that he cannot pursue her and expect her to fall in love with him. But soon she changes her mind.
Apart from disguising serious stalking as light-hearted that-is-what-Romeos-do behaviour, the film also does not root the love story in any context. We have no idea why Varun has so much free time. We at least see Varsha working.
The film is definitely at fault for its regressive politics. Unfortunately, Maley may not appear problematic to the movie-going audience simply because we are so accustomed to the rabid stalker who will force love out of the girl in our films.
And is the music of the film nice? Yes. Is the cinematography good? Yes, perhaps.
You’ll even walk away thinking the film is just another love story. Except, that it is just some good old stalking served on a new platter.
